This invention relates to the art of sterilization and/or disinfection, and more particularly to a new and improved method and apparatus for sterilizing small objects such as medical and dental instruments and the like.
One area of use of the present invention is in sterilizing dental instruments, although the principles of the present invention can be variously applied. A procedure for effective sterilization of a wide assortment of dental instruments is essential in every dental office. This is necessary in order to eliminate the transmission of streptococcal and staphylococcal diseases, syphilis, hepatitis, and tuberculosis caused by improper or faulty sterilization methods. The sterilization procedures in common use heretofore have been effective, but unfortunately tend to be time-consuming and relatively expensive. Pre-scrubbing, packaging, sterilization, exhaust and cool down periods are seldom convenient and require considerable time. Gradual instrument damage from steam, heat or corrosive gases is another disadvantage. Furthermore, an increased use of dental auxiliaries has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of patients a dentist serves per day. This trend, in many cases, has led to a serious bottleneck at the sterilizer. The dentist is usually confronted with two alternatives: to purchase many additional sets of instruments or to resort to using solutions of chemical disinfectants for short periods of time. The first alternative is expensive and the second alternative is not effective.
Unfortunately, the trend of the past has involved use of short-cut procedures including more disinfecting solutions (90-95% kill) and less sterilization (100% kill). It should be emphasized that the 5 to 10% of the microorganisms not killed by disinfectants tend to be the more pathogenic and most disinfectant resistant of the microbes. As a result, chemical disinfection procedures allow for selective infection of patients by only the strongest and highly resistant strains of microbes. The eventual result of this inherent selective mechanism will show striking similarities to the development of the many penicillin-resistant strains not present before the widespread use of penecillin. The number of microbes with which a patient is inoculated is also a critical factor in the severity of the infectious disease. Any reduction in the number of microbes is a positive action and this is why proper use of disinfectants can be of positive value. The present trend away from sterilization must be reversed in order to maintain a high quality of dental care delivery and prevent needless transmission of diseases.
New and different techniques are needed to break the financial and temporal barriers of sterilization so that it can readily be used by all dentists. The development of such a simplified system would eliminate the temptation to cut corners and would more fully encourage dentists to sterilize their instruments, thereby improving the quality of dental care delivery.
A practical solution to the present problems of dental sterilization is to find a method that would both clean soiled instruments and achieve complete sterilization quickly, be cost effective and yet be gentle to the instruments. Such a method would have the following qualities:
1. Rapid sterilization (10 minutes or less for complete cycle). PA1 2. Eliminate pre-scrubbing of instruments. PA1 3. Leave no residue on the instruments (no rinsing). PA1 4. Operate at ambient temperature to allow for sterilization of certain plastic and other heat sensitive items. PA1 5. Use no harsh chemicals so as not to be corrosive or harmful to the instruments or toxic to the operator. PA1 6. Be more economical with less capital investment and lower operating costs.
Such a method would enable the dentist to clean and sterilize all instruments and not be penalized by the cost of additional instruments or by the loss of precious time. Such a method would provide an end to the inconvenience of the traditional sterilization techniques.